Promoting Smart Planning in San Diego: Holding SANDAG Accountable in the Face of Climate Change

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is a regional public agency charged with developing long-term land use and transportation plans. When SANDAG adopted its 2050 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, it flouted state requirements to develop a plan that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A Superior Court judge agreed with petitioners’ concerns that SANDAG’s plan simply “kicked the can down the road” in the face of serious climate change-related threats to the region, such as sea level rise, increased wildfires and drought.

Public Good PR worked with law firm Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger and petitioners Sierra Club California, Cleveland National Forest Foundation and Center for Biological Diversity to develop a media outreach strategy around their lawsuit against the San Diego Association of Governments’ flawed 2050 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy. Our approach garnered coverage in local and regional print and broadcast outlets that accurately reflected the merits of the case both at the time of filing and when the court agreed that SANDAG’s plan violated state law.